


Ride drop top and chase thrills

by jercydee



Series: Haikyuu!! NaNoWriMo 2018 [19]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Canon Compliant, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, NaNoWriMo, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 07:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16698253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jercydee/pseuds/jercydee
Summary: NaNoWriMo Day 19:Arranged Marriage ORFake Dating AUDay Two of AU Week!Posting a new AU fic every day for one week.Which is basically how his last 12 hours have been: Ennoshita begging him for help last night, that he needed to go to Miyagi in the morning and someone had to come with him or he’d be fucked, and Ryuunosuke—ever the greatest friend alive, in his mind at least—agreed, hastily packing his bags for an overnight stay at Ennoshita’s parents’ place.Ryuu and Chikara share an apartment in Tokyo when Chikara needs to convince his parents that the two of them are in a relationship.This fell under AU Week but tbh it can also be read as canon compliant  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯





	Ride drop top and chase thrills

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to the Stream Team discord for throwing ideas at me—sorry I couldn't make this as angsty as it could be /o\ Also, mucho thank yous and kisses to Pat-friend for the exceptionally quick beta and always holding my hand (Ｔ▽Ｔ) All other mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title is from Feels by Calvin Harris (the working title was "oh my god they were roommates" so y'all can't complain lol).

“Why am I doing this again?”

“Because I will help you with whatever you want for a _month_ if you help me convince my parents I’m in a relationship _._ ”

Ryuu nods, remembering that part of the conversation. He looks at the scenery blazing by outside his window before meeting Ennoshita’s gaze. They’re on the bullet train to Sendai because somehow Ryuu got talked into meeting Ennoshita’s parents as his boyfriend.

“And _why_  do you need to do that?” he asks. Ennoshita looks at him with a tired expression, and he puts his hands up in defense. “Hey, you just sprung it on me! I didn’t get everything—just jumped on the train when you said come with!”

Which is basically how his last 12 hours have been: Ennoshita begging him for help last night, that he needed to go to Miyagi in the morning and someone had to come with him or he’d be fucked, and Ryuunosuke—ever the greatest friend alive, in his mind at least—agreed, hastily packing his bags for an overnight stay at Ennoshita’s parents’ place. It’s a miracle that Ryuu has the next few days off work so he can help Ennoshita out, but it means the details about everything that happened is remarkably fuzzy.

Ennoshita sighs. “Yeah, I know.” He swipes a palm over his face. “Thanks for that, Tanaka.”

“It’s fine,” he says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “But why do we need to convince your parents again?”

“They think I’m too focused on grad school –”

“Which you are.”

Ennoshita glares at him. “And that I should be looking for a girlfriend. Or boyfriend. _Whatever._ ” He rolls his eyes. “I told them I was already in a relationship, I think after that time I nearly died for _The Essay_?”

Ryuu winces at the reminder. That wasn’t a good night, for _either_ of them.

“Anyway, apparently I mumbled something about a boyfriend and now I’m too embarrassed to say I was lying.” He buries his head in his hands. “I asked Kazushi at first—my writing partner at school?—but he bailed last minute.” When he looks up, he exhales a deep breath. “The only good thing is that I didn’t give any names until, like, last night after I convinced you to come with me.”

“She’s fine with you dating your roommate?”

“Apparently.” Ennoshita shrugs.

Ryuu purses his lips into a flat line. He’s already on the way to Miyagi so it’s not like he can argue at this point, but he’s still hesitant about lying to his friend’s parents.

Ennoshita clasps his hands together, pleading, “ _Please_ , Tanaka, just for a little while? I’ll say we broke up at the end of the semester or something.”

He hums his disapproval but relents. “Fine, fine. But you’re helping me with house chores for a month _and_  buying me melonpan for, like, ever after this.”

Ennoshita grins, sliding down into his seat with relief. “ _Done._ ”

“So,” Ryuu says, satisfied with their deal, “what’s the plan?”

“Just... follow my lead, okay?”

* * *

“Chikara! Ryuunosuke! Come in, come in!” Ennoshita’s mom greets them at the door, all but pulling them inside.

“ _Ojamashimasu,_ ” Ryuu says, toeing out of his shoes. He passes a gift bag to her as he does so. “Roll cake from the station,” he says with a smile.

“Thank you!” Mrs. Ennoshita says, grinning. “You didn’t have to!”

Ryuu blushes, unsure how to answer. Ennoshita said to get it for formality’s sake. “Um, it’s my pleasure, Mrs. Ennoshita,” he eventually says.

“Oh, Ryuunosuke-kun, you can just call me Auntie.” She looks over her shoulder, calling out, “ _Dear!_ ” Ryuu gulps, seeing Ennoshita’s dad walk into the hallway. “Chikara’s boyfriend brought us roll cake, isn’t that sweet?”

Mr. Ennoshita smiles warmly at him. “Thank you, Ryuunosuke.”

Ryuu forces a smile, lowering his head in a shallow bow. He blushes at Ennoshita’s mom calling him “Chikara’s boyfriend” before shooting a panicked look at Ennoshita. His pretend date widens his eyes at him, silently mouthing his lips:

_Play along!_

Ryuu holds back a sigh as the Ennoshitas lead him into the house.

* * *

He does his best during dinner, though it’s definitely a trying time.

“And that’s how Nishikata-san hosed water all over himself!”

Mrs. Ennoshita giggles loudly, her husband chuckling along heartily with her, and Chikara laughs politely. Under the table someone kicks Ryuu, and he holds back a whine, beginning to chuckle softly as well.

“So funny, Mom,” Ennoshita mumbles, picking at his food.

“Oh, honey,” she says, “are you sure that’s all you’re going to have? You’re looking a little thin.”

“I’m fine,” he answers flatly.

Ryuu glares at him, and Ennoshita glares back—they’ve had this conversation hundreds of times already since moving in together. Ryuu didn’t realize it was a script Ennoshita memorized with his parents too.

Mrs. Ennoshita _tsk_ s, but drops the subject.

“So,” she says, scooping into her plate with a wide smile, “Ryuunosuke, we’re so happy you and Chikara are together! We know you’ve been friends a long time, but how long have you been dating?”

Ryuu looks at Ennoshita with wide eyes, who replies with a pointed look of his own. “Uhhh,” he stalls, “not very—um—long?”

“Oh!” she says. “Chikara, I thought you said you two have been together for a while?”

“Um, yeah, it’s been a few months,” Ennoshita says easily, flashing a threatening smile at him. Ryuu tries not to choke on his dinner.

“It just–uh”—he scrambles for words—“feels like no time at all, being with Chikara! I didn’t realize how, er, fast the time flew,” he says, hoping it doesn’t come across as lame as it sounds.

Mrs. Ennoshita coos. “Aw, that’s so sweet! Isn’t that sweet, dear?”

The father nods, smiling softly at them. “It felt that way when I was with your mother,” he says to Ennoshita. “And now look where we are!”

He and Ennoshita respond with another weak laugh. Ryuu hopes that the panic he feels isn’t visible on his face.

* * *

Later that night, Ryuu slips into the sleeping mat that Mrs. Ennoshita brings out, laying it next to Ennoshita’s bed. He pumps the spare pillow a few times, resting an arm on it.

“How d’you think it went?” he asks quietly as Ennoshita steps into his bed.

“Well, I think they bought it,” Ennoshita whispers. “Just gotta get through tomorrow and then this’ll be over.”

Ryuu nods, lying on his back with his arms crossed behind his head. He looks up at the ceiling when he says, “Yeah, just get through tomorrow.”

After a while, Ennoshita mumbles, “Night, Tanaka. Thanks again.”

“Night.”

* * *

_Get through tomorrow_ proves much more difficult than Ryuu anticipates. With their ticket back to Tokyo booked for late in the afternoon, he’s introduced to the neighbours, the baker, and some of Ennoshita’s aunties as Ennoshita’s _boyfriend_ before his parents let him and Ryuu go.

“Please come again!” Mrs. Ennoshita says when she and her husband drop them off at the station. “You barely visit home, Chikara,” she admonishes her son.

Ryuu nudges Ennoshita’s arm with an elbow. “Chikara,” he whines, “that’s so mean to Auntie and Uncle.”

Mr. Ennoshita barks out a laugh. “Listen to your boyfriend,” he chuckles.

Chikara blushes, shooting Ryuu a glare. He grins back, because he loves being a little shit. They say their goodbyes to Ennoshita’s parents, waving at them at the turnstiles.

When they’re finally onboard the train, sitting comfortably across each other, Ryuu comments, “I think that went well.”

“Sorry about how long everything took,” Ennoshita says. He gives Ryuu a sheepish look.

“It’s fine. Your folks are real nice, and the aunties only pinched my cheek twice.”

Ennoshita groans, burying his face into his hands. “ _God,_ that was so embarrassing.”

Ryuu chortles, head thrown back in delight. “Chikara, it’s _fine._ I got free meals and now you’re buying me melonpan for life—totally worth it.”

Ennoshita looks up at him with a curious smile.

“‘Chikara’, huh?”

Ryuu shrugs. “Well, if we’re dating, we should use first names, right? I’ve been calling you that since we were at your parents’ place.”

Chikara scoffs a laugh, nodding. “That’s true. But I don’t think I can call you anything but ‘Tanaka’ at this point.”

“That’s fine,” Ryuu replies. “It’s just for your folks back home, yeah? It’ll be easy.”

In hindsight, those are his famous last words.

* * *

“ _Tanaka!_ ” Chikara screams. “I need to FaceTime my mom!”

Ryuu races to Chikara’s room, jumping onto his bed without hesitation. They’ve been doing this for a few weeks now, he knows the drill. FaceTime Mrs. Ennoshita, have his arm around Chikara, pretend like everything’s okay, and then he can go back to –

Well, whatever. So what if Ryuu doesn’t have much going on right now? At least he can spare some time to help out a friend.

“Chikara?” A tinny voice comes from Chikara’s phone. “Can you see me?”

Auntie’s face is a little blurry, but once the connection settles the resolution clears up. She has her hair up in a bandana, and Ryuu can tell that she just finished gardening if the smear of dirt on her cheek is any indication.

Strange how he already knows this.

“Hi, Mom!”

“Hi, Auntie!”

“Hello!” Mrs. Ennoshita smiles. “Oh, and Ryuu-kun too! Hello!”

“Auntie, you have dirt on your cheek,” Ryuu points out politely.

Mrs. Ennoshita touches her face, blushing. “Oh goodness! Sorry about that—I just finished gardening, you know.”

 _Knew it,_  he thinks.

“That’s nice, Auntie! How are the petunias coming along?”

A notification pops up on Chikara’s phone, interrupting the videochat.

“Ryuu? Chikara? Dear, are you still there?”

Chikara frowns, looking at Ryuu. “It’s an email from my prof. I need to go answer it on my laptop. Keep talking to my mom.”

Chikara passes the phone to Ryuu, who takes it easily. “Sorry, Auntie! Chika has to do something really quick, but he’ll be back,” he explains.

“Oh, that’s fine, Ryuu-kun,” she says, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m happy to talk to you. Anyway the petunias are –”

Ryuu preens at the praise, grinning at the screen as Auntie continues to babble about her little garden.

It should be weirder, how comfortable he is videochatting his friend’s mom, but he genuinely likes Chikara’s parents. His mom’s easy to talk to, even if she puts him on the spot a lot, and his dad is just as kind.

Pretending to be Chikara’s boyfriend is way easier than he thought it’d be too. Ryuunosuke’s never been afraid of being physically affectionate with his friends. In high school he was always happy to throw an arm around Noya’s shoulders, or clap Narita on the back, or ruffle Kinoshita’s hair. It didn’t change once he graduated from Karasuno, nor did it change once he finished college. Chikara’s been on the receiving end of a lot of Ryuu’s affection because they’ve been friends for so many years; the only difference is the sentiment the Ennoshitas attach to the gestures.

Like how Auntie brings it up now.

“– and it’s so nice to know that Chikara has someone to look after him when I can’t,” she rambles. “That boy works too hard, you know, just like his father, really. And the both of them need someone to make sure they’re eating properly, or to remind them to get some sleep.” Ryuu laughs, because that sounds _exactly_ like Chikara.

“But I really am glad you can also comfort Chikara when he needs it too,” she continues. She smiles at him through the screen, and Ryuu blushes.

“ _Uh_ , er –”

 _What the hell is he supposed to say?_  He looks after his friends, sure, but _comfort?_ Ryuu’s not sure if he really does that. And what does she mean by “comfort”? Like emotional comfort? _Physical?_  A blush rises to his cheeks before he can stop it.

“I’m so glad that you can give my baby boy a hug when he needs it,” Auntie continues, and Ryuu tries to relax. _Hugs,_ he thinks, _she was talking about_ hugs.

“ _Oh_ , um, o-of course, Auntie!” he stutters.

“ _Mooooom!_ ” Chikara whines, making his way back to the bed, easily taking a space on the bed. “I’m in _grad school_ , I’m not a baby,” he says as he squeezes into the frame with Ryuu. He holds his breath, heart suddenly starting to race at Chikara’s proximity.

“You’re _always_  my baby, Chikara,” she says sternly. She looks away from the screen momentarily before saying, “Oh, _shoot,_  look at the time! I’ve got to start on dinner now, but thank you for talking to me!”

“No problem, Mom. We’ll talk later!”

“A-always nice seeing you, Auntie!” Ryuu tries to keep his voice even, still started by thinking about “comforting” Chikara. Neither Ennoshita seems to catch his unease.

She blows two kisses to the screen with a wave. “Love you boys! Bye, bye!”

And the call ends.

Chikara sighs. “Sorry for making you talk to my mom for most of that, Tanaka,” he apologizes. “Sensei’s email was really long and I couldn’t ignore it.”

“N-nah, it’s fine,” he says, waving his hand in dismissal.

Chikara narrows his eyes at him. _Damn him for being so perceptive,_ Ryuu thinks.

“You okay?” he asks. “You keep stuttering.”

Ryuu shakes his head, trying to calm his fluttering heart. “All good!” he says cheerfully, flashing a thumbs up as he scrambles for an excuse. “I think I just need to run, or something. A lot of pent up energy.”

Chikara continues to survey him carefully, but eventually shrugs.

“Alright,” he relents. “I’ll make dinner tonight, I guess, so be back in like an hour or so?”

Ryuu nods, getting out of his bed and leaving the room. He walks down to his bedroom in confusion. With how fast his heart is still beating, maybe he _does_  need to take a run.

* * *

As the semester goes on, Ryuu realizes that he’s not sure he can keep up the “pretend” part of being Chikara’s pretend boyfriend.

Being around Chikara feels like so much _more_  than how they were before this entire thing started.

Somehow, Chikara isn’t Chikara anymore—he’s _Chika_. Mrs. Ennoshita is _Auntie_  and Mr. Ennoshita is _Uncle_. Ryuu even knows the names of Chikara’s aunties now.

And he’s not just affectionate whenever he has to FaceTime Chikara’s family anymore—he’s affectionate all the time now. When they’re alone together, sitting side-by-side eating take-out on their ratty couch, Ryuu wants to snuggle closer and lean his head on Chikara’s shoulder. When Chikara smiles—excited about a new movie, or happy that he impressed his thesis advisor, or laughing at one of Ryuu’s dumb jokes—Ryuu has the urge to kiss him.

Ryuunosuke knows he wears his heart on his sleeve, but he keeps these feelings close to his chest. _It’s just until the end of the semester anyway,_  he tries to remind himself. After that, this entire thing will be over and the feelings will go away.

* * *

(What scares Ryuu the most, late at night when he’s able to admit it to himself, is that he _doesn’t_ actually want that to happen.)

* * *

They’re drunk one night after hitting too many karaoke bars. Ryuu honestly lost count how many places they hopped, just knows that their friends left like an hour ago and that Chikara has a pretty, red glow on his face, laughing in Ryuu’s arms after they leave another bar. They step onto what he hopes is the right bus home, pointedly ignoring the agitated bus driver when they take their seats at the back.

“I can’t believe you convinced that one girl you were _actually_ a director!” Ryuu howls, clutching his belly. “Do you still have her card?”

Chikara giggles, shaking his head. “Oh jeez, no. I think I lost it after she left?”

Ryuu erupts in another belly laugh. He still has an arm clutching Chikara, and Ryuu pulls him even closer. Chikara smells like sweat, and beer, and a bit like the perfume of that poor girl they duped, but mostly he smells like comfort. Familiarity.

Chikara doesn’t hesitate to lean on his shoulder as they both continue to laugh. Ryuu feels warmth flooding his chest, so unlike the burn of the shots they had hours earlier.

Their drunk giggles eventually quiet after a few stops, along with the glares of other passengers trying to peacefully ride the bus. They talk about a lot of things on the way home: a little about where their other friends went (“Another bar?” “Nah, I think Noya said something about meeting Asahi-san?”), a little bit about the raging hangover they’ll have (“We’re fucked, bro.” “God, I know.”), but mostly about how much fun they had that night.

They hop off the bus at the last stop, exactly half a block from where their apartment is. Chikara, definitely more of a lightweight than Ryuunosuke, predictably needs his help once they step out. Halfway down the sidewalk, Ryuu is practically carrying Chikara’s weight on his shoulder.

“Piggyback me, T’naka,” Chikara slurs.

“What?!” Ryuu suddenly feels a lot more sober than he actually is.

“Can’t walk an’more,” Chikara mumbles into his shoulder. “Carry me home.”

He sounds so sleepy and adorable that Ryuu doesn’t bother hesitating. He slings Chikara onto his back, making sure that he has a steady hold on the other boy before he walks up the steps to their building.

“Thanks for t’night, Ryuu,” Chikara whispers once they finally make it to the elevator. “Had fun.”

“That’s good.” Ryuu smiles. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself—you need to learn to loosen up more, Chika.”

Chikara hums. Ryuu’s stepping out of the elevator when he continues, “‘Like when you call me that.”

“Hm?”

Ryuu’s wrestled the keys out of his pocket, finally inside their apartment and making his way to dump his very _heavy_ friend into bed when Chikara says, “When you call me ‘Chika’. Sounds like ‘m actually your boyfriend.”

_Oh._

Ryuu tries to brush it off, carefully placing Chikara onto his mattress.

“We are though, aren’t we? Gotta ham it up for your parents and everything,” he says playfully, grabbing the trash bin from under Chikara’s table and placing it next to the bed. He’ll be thankful for that in the morning.

“I mean, _f’real_ ,” Chikara mumbles, snuggling his sheets. “Wanna be your boyfriend _for real,_  not just ‘cause I made Mom think’so.”

Ryuu swallows, sure that the blush on his cheeks isn’t just because he’s drunk. He stands still as he watches Chikara settle into bed, unsure what to say.

When Chikara’s breathing evens out, and because Ryuu thinks he’s definitely asleep, he whispers, “I wish we were boyfriends for real, too.”

Before he loses the last of his liquid courage, Ryuu bends down, pressing his lips softly against Chikara’s forehead. He lingers, pecking one more kiss to Chikara’s hair before quietly leaving the room.

* * *

They’re right about the hangover. The next morning, Ryuu wakes up to the sound of Chikara throwing up down the hall. The noise irritates his awful headache, and he throws an arm over his face. His stomach seems relatively okay (he actually remembered to drink water throughout the night, thank goodness), but the pounding in his head is far from pleasant.

Eventually he hears the faucet running in the bathroom, followed by the closing of a door, and Ryuu figures that he’s free to use the toilet. He climbs out of bed, swaying a little on his feet but otherwise steady, and pads down the hallway to take a piss. After washing his hands and splashing some water on his face, he makes his way to Chikara’s room, whose head is buried under every single pillow he owns.

“Want pain meds?”

“Yes, please.”

“Coffee?”

“Mmm _no_ , need water.”

“Okay. Be back in five.”

As Ryuu rummages through the cupboards for the Ibuprofen, he remembers what happened last night.

 _Wanna be your boyfriend_ for real.

_I wish we were boyfriends for real, too._

He swallows thickly. How much does Chikara remember?

He’s snapped out of his thoughts when he hears the other boy groaning down the hall. Ryuu dumps two Ibuprofen tablets in his hand, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge before making his way back to Chikara’s room.

“Hey,” he says softly, “can you get up? I got meds and a water bottle.”

Chikara slowly rises from under his pillows, moving as sluggish as a zombie. When he finally sits up, he looks like shit: face crumpled in a pained expression, hair sticking up every direction, lips cracked and dry.

“Here,” Ryuu says, passing the water and tablets. Chikara takes them with heavy hands, slapping the Ibuprofen into his mouth and gulping down the water so haphazardly that it leaks down his chin.

“You’re a life saver, Ryuu,” Chikara mumbles as he closes the water bottle.

“Nah, just less hungover than you, Chika.” Ryuu grabs the drink, placing it on the Chikara’s table. He then scratches the back of his head, thinking about the night before. “Hey, uh,” he hesitates, “do you... remember? Anything? From last night?”

Chikara whines a little in his throat. It’s clear on his face that recalling anything beyond waking up half an hour ago proves difficult for him.

“Uhhh,” he drawls, “not really? Karaoke? Bars? We split up at like 1am, I think.”

Ryuu purses his lips. “You don’t remember coming home?”

Chikara hums, sinking back into bed. “We got on the bus. That’s it, really.”

“Yeah, well, we made it back.” He ends the sentence with a light chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ll, uh, make food. You can try sleeping more, if you want, Chika.”

The other boy pulls the sheets over him, replying with a hum. When he starts to snore, Ryuu quietly leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Chikara doesn’t remember anything after getting on the bus. He probably never realized he confessed to Ryuu.

On the other side of the door, Ryuu breathes a sigh—he’s not sure if it’s in relief or regret.

Hours, days, weeks later, whenever Ryuu brings up that night, Chikara admits that he really doesn’t remember a lot aside from the bus ride home, and Ryuu realizes that he’s disappointed every time he asks.

* * *

The end of Chikara’s semester comes way too quickly.

Ryuu’s standing in the kitchen one afternoon, trying to decide what to eat when Chikara breaks the news.

“I told my parents we broke up,” he announces simply. “Said that our schedules got too busy and we couldn’t handle it.”

“Oh.”

Ryuu rubs the back of his neck. He wasn’t expecting that _at all_ when he heard Chikara on the phone.

“What’d they say?” he asks.

“Mom’s sad.” Chikara shrugs. “Dad was at work so she’s gonna tell him later.”

“She say anything about us still being roommates?”

“Yeah,” he mumbles. “She’s worried that it’ll be too much for us, but I told her that we’d be fine. I mean, she didn’t know, but we were just pretending, right?”

Ryuu nods. _Right, pretending._

“Um, I guess I gotta back off from the boyfriend stuff then, huh?” He tries not to sound too disappointed—this was all it was going to be, after all.

“Yeah,” Chikara repeats, looking away. “Thanks for helping out, Tanaka.”

Ryuu swallows, pressing his lips together. “Mm,” he says, “no worries, man.”

They stand together in awkward silence before Chikara says, “I’ve gotta go. Writing session.” He makes his way to the door, looking over his shoulder to wave goodbye. “I’ll see you later?”

Ryuu nods, and Chikara leaves. He looks back to the open cabinets and realizes he’s not hungry anymore.

* * *

Things are unbelievably awkward after they “break up”. Ryuu isn’t sure how affectionate to be around Chikara anymore, doesn’t remember what boundaries they had before things became so complicated.

He’s also pretty sure that Chikara’s avoiding him, spending more time at school or with his thesis advisor, planning around Ryuu’s work schedule so they cross paths as little as possible in their apartment.

When they do see each other, they don’t talk as much. Their conversations are stilted, tense. Sometimes it’s because Chikara’s parents want to know what’s going on with Ryuu, but they can’t, because he and Chikara aren’t dating anymore. Chikara stops taking his parents’ calls after it happens a fourth time, and Ryuu hears him make a weak excuse about being busy since the classes are wrapping up. Ryuu knows that’s not true, because Chikara was working himself to the bone in order to take things easy at the end of the semester, but he walks away from where he was eavesdropping at Chikara’s door. It’s not his place to tell Auntie the truth.

He never did that in the first place.

Ryuu doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know how to fix things.

* * *

Chikara goes home for Golden Week. Ryuu has plans to return home too, visit his sister and parents, but he has to leave later than Chikara because of work.

They’ve been “broken up” for a little over three weeks now.

Ryuu notices how much quieter it is without Chikara around. Chikara isn’t even the loud one between the two of them, but Ryuu misses him when he’s not there. He misses the footsteps of Chikara pacing in his room, the mumbling he does under his breath when he really gets into his writing, how he calls Ryuu’s name because Ryuu forgot to take out the trash (again).

Chikara’s gone now, but Ryuu realizes he’s missed him for much longer than the morning he left for Miyagi.

He calls up his sister, ready to tell her that he’s coming home a few days earlier than expected.

* * *

_Knock knock knock._

“Ryuu-kun?” Auntie says, opening the door. “Why are you here? Chikara isn’t –”

“Auntie,” he says politely, “I have to tell you something.”

“That you and my son never actually dated?”

“Me and Chikara never— _wait_ ,” he pauses, Auntie’s words finally registering. “You knew?”

She sighs, waving him in. “Come inside, Ryuu-kun.”

They make their way to the kitchen, where Ryuu takes the same seat he did months ago when he and Chikara had dinner with his parents.

“I had a feeling you two were never really involved,” Auntie says with a sad smile. “Chikara is a horrible liar, and you’re not really that much better, Ryuu-kun.” She looks at him sheepishly. “No offense.”

Ryuu sighs, but smiles back. “I know.”

“I had a feeling Chikara was hiding something from me, but I convinced myself that you two were happy together every time I called.” She shrugs. “He told me the truth when he came home earlier this week.”

“I’m sorry, Auntie.”

“Oh, Ryuu-kun, it’s okay,” she says.

He looks at her with confusion—how could any of this be okay? They both lied to her, to Uncle, to so many people, for months. And now that it’s all over things are so messed up.

“I could be angrier, but mostly I wish Chikara didn’t think he had to pretend for me—I just want him to be happy,” she explains. “I think he’s more upset with himself that he got you tangled up in this actually. He’s been really quiet since you two ‘broke up’.” She uses finger quotes for emphasis. He nods—he knows how quiet Chikara’s been.

“Auntie,” he says softly, “I know this ended up really, _really_ bad but now I actually, truly love your son. Can you please give me—us—a second chance?”

She reaches out, patting his hand softly where it lays on the table. He looks at their hands, then back at her. Auntie smiles at him kindly.

“Ryuu, I don’t think you even need to ask.”

* * *

He finds Chikara at a park nearby, sitting alone on a bench, exactly where Auntie told Ryuu he’d be.

“Chika!”

The other boy turns around, frowning. “Ryuu?”

Ryuu jogs over, sitting in the empty space next to him.

“What are you doing here?” Chikara asks, brows furrowed in obvious confusion. “I thought you weren’t leaving for –”

Ryuu cuts him off with a kiss. Chikara gasps a little before sinking into it, but when he does Ryuu relaxes. He deepens the kiss, hands coming up to cup Chikara’s cheeks gently. Chikara’s lips are soft against his, and when he sighs Ryuu pushes back in for more.

They part for air, and Ryuu huffs a soft chuckle. “I wanted to do that _forever._ ”

Chikara backs up, and Ryuu immediately misses the warmth. “What?”

Ryuu blushes, dropping his hands from Chikara’s face to hold the other boy’s hands.

“I’ve liked you a long time, Chika,” he confesses quietly. He plays with Chikara’s fingers, pursing his lips. “I thought you might’ve liked me too, when we got plastered after karaoke –”

“That –” Chikara shakes his head. “When I said I wanted us to be boyfriends—that was _real?_ ” Ryuu nods, and Chikara groans, hanging his head. “Oh _god._ ”

“Wait,” Ryuu interrupts, “so you remember that night?”

“I thought my hangover was making things up,” Chikara says, face turning redder with each word. “It felt like a dream, when you kissed me.”

Now Ryuu flushes red. “You were _awake_ when I did that?!”

Chikara looks up at him with a shy smile. “I was almost asleep, but... yeah. I know you kissed me on the head. Twice.”

“Chikara!” he whines, shoving the other boy’s shoulder lightly. “You kept telling me that you only remembered going home on the bus!”

“I said it felt like a dream!” Chikara defends. “I didn’t realize it was _real,_  telling you that I want to be your boyfriend.”

Despite it all, Ryuu grins, beaming wide.

“You-you still wanna be my boyfriend?” he says, unable to hide the giddiness in his voice.

Chikara shrugs, shoulders hunching self-consciously. “Well, yeah.”

Ryuu leans forward again, pressing another kiss to Chikara’s lips. He can feel the other boy smiling into the kiss, and he can’t help but grin back.

When they pull apart, Ryuu says, “I wanna be your boyfriend too.”

They grin at each other while Ryuu caresses Chikara’s cheek.

Then something suddenly dawns on Chikara. He gasps, eyes wide when he says, “Oh god, Mom’s never going to let me live this down.”

Ryuu laughs. “Neither will I, Chika,” he snickers. “You put me through hell for _months!_ ”

Chikara shoves his head, and Ryuu pokes him back, and eventually the two of them are roughhousing like a bunch of teenagers until Ryuu falls off the bench, pulling Chikara down with him. They lie on the ground, giggling at each other before falling into another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> This is already 5k and still I feel like this is rushed to all hell <_____> I might come back to it because these boys deserve every single moment of awkwardness and angst fake dating has to offer, but alas I have the rest of this AU week to get through lol.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos give me life and comments will be handed a cookie<3
> 
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